PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Billy Butler hit a grand slam and drove in seven runs yesterday in the Kansas City Royals’ 9-8 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Butler’s slam was the first ever allowed by Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels. James Shields earned his first victory with the Royals, allowing four runs in six innings.

(Kansas City, MO) — After a 3-and-3 start on the road, the Royals play their home opener today. They host the Twins this afternoon at Kauffman Stadium. Ervin Santana gets the start for Kansas City, while Kevin Correia takes the hill for Minnesota. The Twins are off to a 4-and-2 start to the season.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Matt Carpenter drove in three runs yesterday as the St. Louis Cardinals routed the San Francisco Giants 14-3. Jon Jay, Carlos Beltran, Allen Craig, Pete Kozma and Matt Adams added two RBIs apiece for St. Louis. Matt Cain became the first Giants pitcher to allow nine runs in one inning since 1902.

(St. Louis, MO) — After a week on the road, the Cardinals will play their home opener this afternoon. They host the Reds in the first of a three-game series at Busch Stadium. Jaime [[ HIGH-may ]] Garcia opposes Mat Latos [[ LAY-tose ]]. Cincinnati is 4-and-2, while the Cardinals are 3-and-3.

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) — Jimmie Johnson pulled away on a restart with eight laps to go and won the STP Gas Booster 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Johnson has earned eight victories at Martinsville, a mark topped only by Richard Petty’s 15 and Darrell Waltrip’s 11. Clint Bowyer (BOY’-ur) was second, followed by Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne (kayn) and Kyle Busch.

(Newark, NJ) — The FBI is looking into claims the whistle-blower who raised concerns about abusive former basketball coach Mike Rice tried to extort Rutgers for almost a million dollars. Sources close to the investigation said a lawyer representing Eric Murdock penned a letter to the university in December asking for 950-thousand dollars for what he believed was his wrongful termination. Rutgers officials refused and Murdock eventually went public with video footage showing Rice mistreating players. Rice was sacked last week and the university accepted the resignation of Athletic Director Tim Pernetti.